Bogleheads.org

We just sold a car using AutoTrader, and agree with all the advice above on meeting in public, photograph license, Google them, don't go on ride, take only cashier's check prepared in your presence at their bank, etc.. I know of a couple, man and wife, who were killed by a test driver who wanted the...

SteveNet wrote:I will figure out how to use google docs to utilize it.

It can also be run using LibreOffice Calc, which is a free program available here: http://www.libreoffice.org/default/

I will run some numbers on RMD and SS, and single survivor taxes, although my wife would get half of my pension (after it's already cut in half so say 25%) no cola and half of my SS. So I don't think she will get up too high in the tax brackets. I will look into the numbers though. Use my Roth Conv...

2. the amount of taxes you will pay between when you retire and you start taking minimim distributions. by taking at 62 me and the wife will pay no federal tax(all returned) for the next 8 years when i start making distributions. i suggest you actually look at probable RMD removal amounts. there ar...

Needtoknow wrote:Electric rates in Arizona has really high electric rates.

We're at $0.11kWh in the Tucson area.

Taxes are important, but other factors may be way more important. A house across the street from us sold in early 2012 at a bargain price to a couple moving here from Virginia to retire. They had been to the Tucson area many times and knew it well. Before they moved in they had significant improveme...

Interesting article/review on the Fiat 500e being sold in CA. The lease option looks attractive if someone wants to dip their toe into an electric car, and can fit into this one! http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323744604578471110585778862.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_6 Meanwhile, t...

Thanks very much. I tried your 13.1 version that wanted me to do my conversion amount over three years (different from the other which said do it all in one year -my input). The conclusions are not very clear however (to me) as some years seem to be worthwhile, others not and I wasn't sure why ther...

Try my model as an alternative and starting point. It covers most options a retiree might face, but not some of the more sophisticated tax strategies at this time. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=97352&p=1405885#p1405885

I'm staying with Total Bond as the 5.3-year expected average duration works just fine for my 20 year remaining investing timetable.

The 1906 Baker Landolet electric car referenced via a link above was priced at $4,000, which would amount to $100,646 in todays dollars, so the price of luxury electrics hasn't changed all that much! Of course, the definition of luxury has.

I'm really enjoying driving our new Ford C-Max Energi, which is a plug-in hybrid. I've gone as far as 25 miles on the battery alone and driving a battery powered vehicle is really a pleasure. It cost about $0.70 to recharge it after that 25 mile trip, BTW. Consumers gave the C-Max Hybrid "only&...

The other major opportunity is converting a TIRA to Roth at 0% tax (thanks to the deductibility of assisted living and nursing care). Most trustees/attorneys-in-fact are overwhelmed by the emotional and logistical challenges of a death and don't have time or energy left over for investing gimmicks....

I recommend against it. Your mother may need the money before death. I agree, now is not the time to be chasing yields with such a relatively short investing period. My MIL is in good mental and physical health, but the odds of something happening are high and she may need to pay significant amount...

capcase wrote:please share with me your input.

My input is that you need to invest those funds as part of an overall well-thought out investing plan, and here's where to start: Wiki article link: Getting Started

My MIL is 87 and I'm managing her Schwab account which has a few similarities to your mother's. A few random thoughts: 1. I have her at 15% stocks (Total Stock Market) and see no reason to bother with an international holding at her age. I also manage it for her age-appropriate needs, and not her he...

I recently had the pleasure to work with LadyGeek in adding my Roth calculator to the Wiki and she was terrific. Not only did she review the model, and do the heavy lifting on the Wiki entry, but she also came up with a great suggestion to make the model useable by the free program LibreOffice, poss...

Thank you for your contribution to the economy. :) Next year I get to pay for my daughter's wedding. :moneybag I love stimulating the economy! Oddly, at some point since starting SS three years ago I stopped being concerned about minor purchases (or even that large C-Max one for that matter). We th...

I started SS benefits for both of us at 62 and they cover 50%-60% of our normal living expenses, allowing a SWR of about 1.5% of our own assets. Of course, then I go and buy a new Ford C-Max which gobbled up this years SS benefits and some more so the best laid plans......

dickenjb wrote:Yes. Too complex. I recommend Target Retirement fund or Life Strategy Fund. Live your life.

+100 A perfect solution for the OP and his decision making issues.

I will add, regarding my position on DIY being easy for the average investor and Rick's comments, that I don't know if my DW will be "average" after I'm gone, so I have left instructions for her to employ Rick's firm if she feels dealing with our simple portfolio is too difficult. While I'...

You might want to read jay22's comment here: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=88005&p=1685160#p1685160

I think there is no reason for the average investor to pay adviser fees of any amount. It's just too easy to DIY.

Very interesting the 19+ number. HEY PEOPLE! Get with the program!

(Full disclosure: I use to have 18 myself.)

You can run your numbers through the Roth Conversion calculator I created and see if that gives you some information on your situation, or a starting point for further study. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=97352&p=1405885#p1405885

I'm sure you will find it useful if you can get it! I just clicked on the link in Post #1 and it downloaded quickly and without a problem, both with and without being logged into Dropbox. Try again and if you're still having problems I'll try to come up with a Plan B.

Thank you for that insight into and explanation of Hot Hands. Clearly not something a Boglehead would want to use, but a good illustration of why any portfolio structure needs to be examined year by year, down years and up years, and in comparison to market indexes. Think I will retire my lust for H...

Every month I look at this (thank you madsinger!) and see how Coffeehouse is doing as I have a bond-heavy version of that, but I always ponder: "Why isn't everyone invested using the Hot Hands approach?" After 13 years of superior results can't one conclude that methodology has some merit?...

I decided to keep my Tracfone ($80/year). I do have a wireless capable IPOD so I am often able to connect from hotspots around town and pick up email which is the main use I would have had for a smartphone. I have the same setup and occasionally look at getting a smarter-phone and can't justify the...

My MIL has to keep $5,000 in her Bank of America checking account to avoid the monthly fee, which would be slightly more than the interest she loses by not having those funds in a money market account.

Switching from managed funds to index funds, and selling all my individual stocks.

I would use Edmunds, Kelley Blue Book, NADA, and Auto Trader. I just used all those to price my Honda Odyssey for sale, and the couple that bought it were so impressed by my 35-item price analysis that they didn't haggle very much.

Everyone keeps saying how a training class is important. I don't disagree, but I'm unaware of any states that will issue such a permit without a mandatory, typically 8 hour, class. Are there any? In Arizona one can concealed carry, or open carry, without a permit, but if you want a permit then the ...

Based on our lifestyle we are confident that we have enough money to last us the rest of our lives, barring major medical expenses or other catastrophe. Our basic , somewhat philosophical , question ( in line with the adage " why take a risk if you don't have to ? )" is : if you were in o...

Definitely do it. I used Will Maker when I realized how my elderly in-laws were at risk by not having them. It was very, very difficult to get them to do it, but by us preparing them for ourselves at the same time I think it helped persuade them. Very important estate documents, I'm convinced.

I bought a Ruger LCP 380, with laser, for a CC weapon, should I ever want or need to do that, which has yet to occur. It is small and light, and even my wife with some arthritis in her hands, can pull the slide, and hit a target at 15'. The laser really helps with this small gun. Not a fun gun to sh...

Your parents need to maximize their contributions to whatever tax-deferred investing opportunities they have available to them, even if the investment choices within the programs are not optimum. Time is running out and they need to get their savings, of all types, into high gear.

I'm a Boglehead because membership is free.

I see Schwab got 4.5 but only 10 reviewers. I suspect most people rating here might have a beef and give a bank a low rating as a result.

I know this is probably old hat to youngsters, but now that I've got an iPod Touch with a camera I can take pictures of the occasional check I get and have it electronically deposited into my Schwab checking account, and I think that is the coolest thing around! It's the cat's meow! A second for Sch...

I'm managing my 87-year old MIL's accounts after my FIL died three years ago. Here's some ideas I have for your situation. 1. I would come up with a more realistic asset allocation for their age, something like 25% stock, 65% bond, 10% cash. I have my MIL at 15% stocks, and think anything between 15...

Definitely consider a Ford C-Max Hybrid or Energi (the plug-in version). After thinking we wanted to upgrade to a more comfortable and luxury car from our Honda Odyssey, I looked at a friends new Lexus 350 and thought it was very nice, a bit tight, and did I really want to pay $40k+ for a car that g...

I've been happy with my Total Bond Fund (VBMFX) over the past five years. Someone that jumped to CDs years ago for the safety may have missed out on returns that will easily offset any temporary dip in the NAV should rates increase. At least that's the way I view it in my "stay the course"...

True the yield goes up when the NAV goes down, but when you use the income for expenses, where do you find the money to purchase more shares for a higher yield. Isn't that what your bond funds does, if you continue to own it? The expiring lower interest bonds are retired, and new higher interest bo...

I think most would agree that sooner or later the Fed will stop propping up Bonds and they will fall. I am retired and 66 years old with a decent pension with no current need to tap into these IRA funds. I am not skittish about riding the wave but realize that my time horizon may not allow a full r...

My 87 year-old MIL has about equal amounts in taxable and her IRA, so with only 15% in stocks, she still has substantial amounts in mostly Total Bond in her taxable account. But any taxes incurred by meager income it generates these days is dwarfed by the taxes on the RMD the IRA generates, which al...

What I learned from my father-in-law's dementia. This former oil company accounting manager had been in decline for several years. After literally falling, and not being able to get up, the alarms finally went off in my head - what if he remains generally physically healthy with continued mental dec...

I get the cashflow part of your comment. But if you are 45% equity and the market crashes in half (or worse), you'd then be merely 29% equity (or less). How is that being rebalanced by the market? It's the market telling me I should be at 29%/71% and who am I to argue with it? I was at 60% stock in...

Just curious, if the market crashes (more than a 50% drop) like 2008, will you rebalance to 45% equity? Taking the "Pascal's Wager" that you could be flushing good money into bad, with the potential consequence of permanent hell (such as going for the next 20-30 years, your likely lifespa...

BTW I am 64 and don't want to go through another 2008 without insurance. That's my take but I've only lately gotten interested in investing. Am I on the right track? Other ideas? I'm 64 too and think you are absolutely on the wrong track. I suggest you direct your new found interest in investing to...

I've tried to keep the tax calculations as simple as possible as I don't really want to try to model the various complexities of the tax law, nor have to update the model to keep current with the changes that occur. (Adding the two brackets for 2013 was a bit annoying, I will admit.) That said, I un...